The Sky is Falling
by Storm Clouds and Stars
Summary: In which Nick and Jess are having a baby. And Nick Miller channels Chicken Little. Nick/Jess.
1. ducks and bunnies

**Chicken Little**

* * *

Hi guys! I bring with me a oneshot based upon the fact I stayed up until like three in the morning watching Chicken Little last night. Hey hum. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

He finds out he is going to be a father on a Tuesday.

Jess had made him his lunch as usual, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich wrapped neatly in a shiny foil wrapper, with just the right ratio of jelly to peanut butter so that he didn't get a sticky mouth or strawberry pips between his teeth. Humming happily, he eats his sandwich whilst absent mindedly cashing up the previous nights takings at the bar on a scrap of paper when he sees it. Folded into a little square at the bottom of his lunch box, a piece of card, with his name written upon the blank white surface in her cursive script. The sweet and salted flavours of his peanut butter and jelly sandwich suddenly soured on his tongue, chewing becoming laborious, an impossibility, as he picked up the note with trembling fingers.

Notes were their 'thing'. After the date incident, Nick and Jess had quickly adopted the technique of writing each other notes on a regular basis. It started off sweet and innocent, when she had to be at work early Nick would wake to a goofy note telling him to have a good day and that she'd swing by the bar later, or he would hide them in her tea box, scrawled messages of how beautiful she looked that day, or how much he missed her when she wasn't around.

It all changed at their first fight. It was a bad argument, which started with Nick yelling at Jess because she'd interfered and invited his Mom over to the loft for Christmas without him knowing, and Jess getting increasingly frustrated at Nick's attitude toward his family.

"_What's your problem, Jess?" Nick yelled, gripping at his hair in frustration and getting close to Jess' face. Jess let out a harsh laugh and threw her arms wide._

"_My problem?" She mocked, eyes wide and disbelieving. "My problem, Nick? I'm not the one freaking out because my mother is coming to visit me for the holidays!" _

"_It was not your place to get involved!" Nick roared, clenching his fists. "I don't want her here, Jess!" Jess' eyes softened a little at that, but she still refused to back down._

"_Why? Why, Nick? Are you embarrassed?" Nick refused to meet her eyes, and Jess stepped closer to him, blue eyes scanning his face. "You are, aren't you? What are you embarrassed of, Nick?" She averted her eyes from his eyes directed them to her hands that were locked in front of her. "Are you embarrassed of me?" She whispered. _

_When Nick didn't answer, Jess stood up from her perch on the edge of the couch and moved in front of his face, ensuring his eyes were focused solely on her. "I'm not here to be your cheerleader when you get in these self destructive funks. I'm done, Nick." She rested a hand on his cheek and ran a thumb down his face tenderly, before walking into her room and slamming the door behind her._

_Hours passed in silence. Until suddenly, Jess heard footsteps outside of her door. Moving to open the door to whom she presumed was Nick, she stopped in her tracks when she noticed a little piece of white card slipped under her door, covered in his messy scrawl. Picking it up, Jess read the message over quickly, tears immediately blooming to her eyes as she digested his words. _

_'Jess,_

_You wear fake teeth to weddings, have absolutely no idea when it's appropriate to burst into song, and you cried so loudly when I took you to see Marley and Me we got thrown out of the cinema. And you know what? I'm still not embarrassed by you. I love you and every little weird thing you do. Now open your damn door before I break it down.'_

_Padding open to the door, Jess pulled it open to reveal a very nervous looking Nick Miller waiting for her. She shot him a watery smile and he shrugged his shoulders slightly, telling her he didn't have a clue what to do next. _

"_I'm trying so hard to be better for you, Jess," He mumbled, pulling her to him and burying his face in her hair. It moved against his face like ripples after a stone hits a lake. "I just... I feel like if they came-" Nick kind of grunted and made this choking noise and Jess realised too late he was crying. Stroking her hand up and down his spine she shushed him. _

"_I feel like if they came here..." Nick carried on, "Everything's so delicate, you know? New and rickety. And the Millers, well, they're something of a thunderstorm waiting to happen." Jess laughed a little at that, and Nick liked the way it felt against his neck. _

And like that, notes to them became something more. When their equal stubbornness prevented them from saying what needed to be said, neat little pieces of paper would appear. Which is why, as Nick turned over the white piece of card in his hands, he raked his brain for what he could of done. Coming up with nothing, Nick felt an uneasy feeling of nausea wash through his stomach as he remembered Jess' behaviour that morning as they ate breakfast.

"_What's eating at you, Day?" Nick asked across the kitchen counter, noticing the way Jess was pushing around her sodden cereal sadly, face scrunched up as if trying to do really difficult maths problems in her head. Starting from her reverie, she grinned up at him brightly, a smile that Nick noticed didn't quite reach her eyes. _

"_Nothing! I'm great, just swell thanks, Nick. Peachy keen. 100% a-okay. Spiffing. Couldn't be be-" She trailed off, noticing the disbelieving look on his face, and shrugged a little sadly. "Must be my menzies, I guess." Nick made a face and Jess laughed, genuinely smiling for the first time that day._

"_I gotta get to work." Nick yawned, reaching over to kiss her on the cheek sweetly. "I'll see you tonight?" Jess bobbed her head up and down in response, and Nick felt an uncomfortable tug on his heartstrings as he noticed the unfamiliar, clandestine sadness shining in her eyes. _

"_Nick?" She called out to him, just as he turned to leave, and he paused to turn back to her. "I love you." Walking back over to her, Nick stooped to kiss her hard on the mouth, noting the way she clinged to him tightly, kissing him back with more desperation than usual._

"_I love you, too." Nick breathed against her lips, shooting her one last smile as he headed out the door._

Two words.

That's all that's written on the card.

_'I'm pregnant.'_

And it's Tuesday.

And Nick's at the bar.

And Jess is pregnant.

Suddenly, Nick remembers back to when he was a kid. To the story of that little duck, or was it chicken? It doesn't matter. Some kind of fucking bird anyway, that thinks the sky was falling down when really, all it was was an acorn. He goes running around the town shouting and shouting about how the sky is falling down and manages to get everyone else super worked up, sure that the end of the word was near. Nick always hated that bird. It was an acorn, for god's sake! A tiny little thing, that hit him on the back of the head, yet that dumb fucking chicken-duck starts freaking out and says the sky's falling in on him. Grabbing his keys, tears blurring his eyes, Nick barges through the bar and into his car, ignoring the little voice in the back of his head:

_'Run, Nick Miller, the sky is falling, the sky is falling!'_

* * *

It's Winston that finds him. Nick guesses it must be late because when he tried to buy more liquor from the store after he'd nearly finished his (second) bottle, it had all been locked up, and the sky was that super liquidy black, oozing like spilt ink.

"Hey, man." Winston says, as he hops up on the car bonnet to sit next to Nick, and there's this tone underneath Winston's otherwise neutral voice that Nick recognises instantly, it's the same voice he used when Nick dropped out of law school and broke up with Caroline. Turning his head, Nick smiled at his oldest friend sloppily.

"Jess tell you, huh?" He asks, swigging the almost empty bottle of liquor, not even flinching as it burned a path down his throat.

"Yup," Winston replies, his gaze directed not at Nick, but out into the darkness. He's swinging his legs from his perch on the car bonnet, the back of his calves hitting the bumper with a rhythmic thunk.

"I'm going to be a father!" Nick scoffs, snorting into his bottle of liquor, laughing in a way that both made his gut ache and his head pound. Winston doesn't laugh. Or smile, or comment on Nick's uselessness. In the back of his mind Nick realises with a jolt that Schmidt would, he'd be trying to fix him, make him responsible, but Winston instead sits in silence, giving him the time he needs.

"Is she worried?" Nick asks, glancing over at his friend who just shrugs slightly.

"A little." Winston stretches out a little and stops swinging his legs. Nick finds he misses the dull thunk thunk. "She sort of expected it, though. I think she's with Cece now or something." Nick nods in recognition and feels a drop of shame trickle down his spine at the thought of leaving her to deal with this on her own.

"I'm Chicken Little, Winston." Nick sighs, and Winston abruptly snaps his gaze to him.

"What the hell, Nick?"

"Jess threw a sky at my head and now my acorn is falling." His words are jumbled and the alcohol in his blood makes his pounding head spin, but Winston seems to understand. Smiling at him tightly, he places a comforting hand on his shoulder, and like that, Nick's resolve crumbles. He's crying now, openly, great wracking sobs making his body shake, a tirade of images assaulting his brain. His father, Jess' disappointed face, a baby with big blue eyes, a little girl with dark brown hair tied in pink ribbons.

Tears slowed and Nick's sobs quietened, until it was just two guys and a bottle of liquor, sat on the top of a car at three in the morning.

"Remember when we were fifteen, and we got them dolls in sex-ed class?" Nick starts, Winston nods at the memory, swiping Nick's liquor from his hands and taking a swig.

"And they gave me a damn white baby? Yeah, I remember." Nick laughs slightly and took his bottle back off Winston, taking a sip before continuing.

"Well I got my baby, and I thought: you know what? I'm not going to screw this up." Nick laughs a little, shaking his head in disdain. "And it started good, you know? I fed it, I changed it's diaper, I even named the damn thing." Nick's hands clench around the bottle a little tighter. "And then... it starts to cry. And cry, and cry, and cry. And no matter what, I can't stop it. I tried everything. It still wouldn't stop."

"And?" Winston asks, sitting back on his hands.

"I gave up." Nick shrugs and lets out a heavy breath, gazing up at the sky. "I don't want to do that Winston. I don't want to give up on my kid. I don't want to give up on Jess." He digs the heels of his palms into his eyes, rubbing them tiredly. "I love her too much to fuck this up." Winston smiles at him like he understands, and Nick appreciates it, even if he's pretty sure he doesn't.

The ride back to the loft is long. To sober Nick up, Winston had brought bottles of water that he forced Nick to chug, as well as old rock anthems Nick loved played full blast to snap him back to his senses. Everything felt different, like times long ago, when his dad was alive and it was Winston's first car and they felt like they would never get old.

"Winston!" He shouts over the din, and Winston reaches to turn the car stereo down a little. "Thanks, man." It's all that's needed between a pair of friends so old, and both knew it.

* * *

The door to the loft bangs shut and Jess' gaze immediately sprung to it at the noise. Cece, sat beside her, shot a nervous glance at Schmidt, who in turn shrugged slightly, biting on his thumbnail from nerves.

As Nick appears round the corner, Jess' expression immediately softens, the worry lines of her forehead smoothing out. Catching her eye, Nick grins at her but before he could make any moves toward her, Schmidt had leapt off the couch and into Nick's arms.

"Never do that again, Nick!" Schmidt cries dramatically, burying his face in Nick's neck, to which Nick wriggled away from. "I was so nervous I began comfort eating, it was like the twinkie incident of '97 all over again!" Nick pats him on the back a little awkwardly.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Nick effectively shoves Schmidt off him and turns to see a watery eyed Jess, hands resting over her still flat stomach. A lump gathers in his throat he is unable to swallow past, seeing her brings back the reality of the situation. Stood in front of him, with her blue eyes and dark hair and nervous expression, red ribbon lip being worried between her teeth stood his future. Silently he twines their fingers together and rests their clasped hands over her stomach, leaning so his forehead rests against hers.

"We doing this, Miller?" Jess asks, and there's happiness in her voice, effervescing out of her like champagne bubbles. Well, maybe not champagne bubbles because pregnant ladies can't drink. And Jess was a pregnant lady. His pregnant lady.

"We're doing this, Day. Let's have a baby." Though the words were said in a light-hearted manner, there was an underlying tenderness that resonated between them, making Jess feel all fuzzy right down to the tips of her toes. Cheers erupt behind them and Nick and Jess snap out of their embrace, identical grins on their faces to see Schmidt, Cece and Winston all applauding and cheering. Cece's smile fixed on Jess, Winston's gaze focused on Nick, and Schmidt openly sobbing into Cece's shoulder.

* * *

"I'm sorry Jess," He whispers to her late that night, kissing the top of her head. She sniffles into his stomach and turns in his embrace to gaze up at him, all wide and forgiving.

"I'm sorry, too." Nick furrows his brow.

"Why are you sorry?" He whispers and she shrugs in a very small way that makes her look infinitely tiny.

"Getting impregnated." Nick lets out a bark of laughter and Jess follows suit, until they're both giggling so uncontrollably it hurts his stomach. Calming down, he wiped a stray tear of laughter from the corner of his eye and smiled at her tenderly.

"Takes two to tango, Jessica." He wiggles his eyebrows and she snorts.

"We're not going to mess this up, are we?" And suddenly reality crashes down on them with the force of a collapsing building, and he feels his throat tighten. Nick tightens his grip on her body.

"No, Jess. We won't mess this up."

He wishes he sounded more sure.

* * *

The next morning he decides he needs to tell his Ma. Jess stands next to him rubbing protectively over her still flat stomach whilst he makes the call, chewing anxiously on her thumbnail, and he leans over to rub tenderly on the small of her back.

"Me and Jess... we're having a baby, Ma."

Silence.

Silence.

Silence.

"Oh, Nicky..." He feels Jess tense up next to him (there would always be the part of Jess so desperate to please his mother, and he knows it, so he tightens his grip on her). "Tell her congratulations! I'm going to be a Nanna!"

Jess lets out an audible gasp of relief and Nick feels his heart constrict almost painfully at the snuffling noise at the end of the phone, indicating his Ma was crying.

"Nicky dear, put Jessica on the phone. I have some homemade remedies that will help so much with the morning sickness and..." Nick passed the phone over to Jess and stood back for a moment to appreciate the sight before him, Jess grinning brightly talking to his beloved Ma, a hand on her stomach where a baby (their baby!) grew closer and closer to being real everyday.

* * *

It turns out after a few weeks being pregnant becomes kind of an issue.

Jess wakes up every morning with panic in her eyes as she makes a mad dash to the bathroom to empty the contents of her stomach. Nick follows her soon after, racing to the sounds of his distressed girlfriend, and holds back her thick hair as she heaves against the cold tile. They spend most mornings awoken by an angry Schmidt, demanding the use of the shower, after falling asleep against the cold white tile of the bathroom.

"Winston, man what have I told you about eggs?" Nick says one morning, intercepting Winston's plate piled high with his breakfast and dumping it's contents straight in the trash. "Eggs make Jess sick."

Winston mumbles angrily at Nick's words, and hastily whips out his phone to tap a dangerously frustrated message to Daisy. "First you take away my damn coffee because the smell makes her wretch, then all fried food is banned, now a man can't even enjoy eggs in his own apartment?"

"Did someone say eggs?" Jess appeared at the doorway in one of Nick's shirts, her little bump making it stand out against her body more than usual, and Nick noted with panic the dangerous shade of green she had turned. Working on autopilot, he scooped her into his arms and rushed her to the bathroom, arriving just in time.

"This is awful." Jess splutters, resting her head on Nick's shoulder. He presses kisses into the side of her face and rubbed her back soothingly.

"Not much longer now, sweetheart."

He wishes he could take the pain from her, but instead he whispers about how much he loves her into her hair.

* * *

"Ducks or bunnies, Nick?" Jess asks from her position in the new rocking chair, reading a magazine that was propped up open on her now round stomach. Nick furrows his brow, wiping a bead of sweat away from his head as he set down the paintbrush, turning to face her.

"Bunnies." Schmidt answers, focussed on the extremely accurate line of yellow paint he was making into the crevice of the wall. Winston huffs from his position on the opposite wall, high on a ladder to reach the corners.

"Something funny, Winston?" Schmidt asks, turning away from his wall threateningly and stepping closer to him. Winston shrugged.

"I don't know man, I guess I just can't see how bunnies are superior to ducks." Schmidt let out a dramatic gasp before drawing back his brush and flicking paint across Winston's smug face.

"Oh no you did-"

"Not in my baby's room!" Nick roars, launching himself between the pair as they made to attack each other. He catches Jess' eye and smiles softly, not missing the way her eyes crinkle at the corners when she laughs.

* * *

"I am not naming her after your Great Aunt Ruthie, Nick." Jess sighs, rubbing her now quite swollen stomach protectively. They were lying facing each other on their shared bed, Jess' belly meaning that they were both teetering dangerously on the edge. Nick sighed.

"Ruthie is a great..."

"...Old lady name. Pass."

"Ok, what do you have in mind Miss Know It All?" Jess smiles happily.

"Robin."

"For a boy or for a girl?"

"Either." Jess shrugs. "It's unisex."

"It makes me think of a fat bird." Nick blanches.

"Nicholas!"

"Jessica!"

They both stare at each other, locked in a silent challenge.

"Kasey." Nick suggests.

"Too white girl. Joshua?"

"Too white boy. What about April?"

"What will we call the next one, September?" Nick considers it for a moment and Jess swats his arm.

"If you two don't shut up right now the kid will be called Schmidt!" An angry voice echoed through the walls, causing Nick to roll his eyes and Jess to giggle. Pressing a kiss to her cheek he sunk lower and pressed a kiss to her bump.

"Goodnight, young Dorothy." He mumbles, plucking a name out of thin air. Jess gasps loudly and Nick sits up, panicked, eyes searching her face.

"Are you okay?" He questions, noticing the tears in her eyes. She nods silently.

"Dorothy. Oh, Nick that's her name." Jess sniffles happily, rubbing her bump. Nick grins crookedly.

"What, straight out of Oz?" Nick teases, and Jess swats him again but this time he's ready for it, catching her hand and pinning her arm above her head. "Dorothy Day. Has a nice ring to it, huh?"

"Miller." Jess whispers, and Nick feels his heart contract painfully. "Her name's Dorothy Miller."

He stoops and kisses her hard on the mouth, trying to pour everything he felt toward her in that one moment into a single action.

The next morning they get an hour long lecture from Schmidt, about how he hopes that their lustful actions of the previous night hadn't impregnated the baby. They both cringe at his down right stupidity, and Jess holds his hand under the table the entire time.

* * *

Lamaze classes were an... experience. He wasn't totally sure what he was expecting if he was being honest, perhaps weird pregnant lady dancing or tribal chants. As Nick and Jess stepped into the room, soft sponge mat clutched under his arm like a weapon for battle, Jess' hand clutched tightly in his other, the eyes of thirty pregnant women boring holes into him. Sensing his nerves, Jess squeezed his hand tightly and Nick turned to smile at her warmly, the worry lines in his forehead easing out.

"Hi!" The couple started as an overly enthusiastic (even by Jess' standard) blonde practically leapt in front them, her mega watt smile taking up half of her face. "You must be Mr and Mrs Miller, right?"

"Actually..." Jess starts, but Nick cuts across her.

"Yeah, that's us the Millers." Nick shoots Jess a smile and she feels tingles shoot up and down her spine in a way that made her whole body quake.

"Well, let's get you a mat!" Jess gripped on to Nick's hand a little tighter and the peppy woman guided them across the floor, and Nick grinned happily at her back.

"So like everyone in this class is pregnant?" Nick murmurs into Jess' ear as the sat on the floor, Jess nestled between his legs.

Jess, hand placed casually over her stomach like it always was, shot Nick a weird look over her shoulder, grinning a little as she felt his hands ghost over her bump, in a feather light caress.

"It was a joke." he says lightly.

"You're jokes are usually funnier, you're losing your touch, Miller." she teases, tongue poking out from between her teeth.

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment towards my usual humour or an insult towards my current joke." Nick muses, causing her to smirk.

Jess let out a breath and suddenly froze, her hand pushed harder on her stomach. Nick's brow furrowed in concern, gently grabbing her arm, and looked at her worryingly. "What's wrong?" he asked, at bit frazzled.

"That was a big kick." she said to herself. After breathing slowly a few times, she assured Nick she was fine with a light squeeze of his knuckles.

"Ok, class! Everybody, please come to the middle!" a squeaky voice requested.

"Well, hello class! Wow! You're all so fat!" The blonde woman whom Jess murmured into his ear was in fact called Tina, shrilled loudly. "I joke, I joke!" she laughed as her bright blue eyes seemed to get brighter, if that was even possible.

Nick shot Jess a weird look as Jess held back a smile.

"Ok, so this class is supposed to be fun! So I want everyone to walk outta here having had the best time off their life! Unless of course you saw the Spice Girls in Reno last week, that's my only exception." she giggled.

"Now, before we begin, I wanna make sure you all know, childbirth…" she paused for dramatic effect. "Is painful. Not that I know from experience, but when my sister had her kid, well let me tell you, it was a pain in the arse for me to hear her ___complain_." she laughed.

"But, I'm here to make sure you gals just get through it without screaming so loud that Guam has to call in their reinforcements." she chuckled at her joke.

"So, this week we're gunna take things ___slow_." Tina dragged out the last word. "And start with a simple breathing exercise. Now I want every couple to face each other, sitting Indian style, and hold the other's hands."

Nick and Jess exchanged an awkward glance before doing what they were told. Their grip on each other was casual but Jess liked the comforting warmth of Nick's hands on hers.

Tina came around making sure everyone was doing it right. "Oh! Honey, I'm in ___love _with your top!" she squealed to Jess, who smiled politely. "Where did you get it?" she asked enthusiastically. "You know what? Tell me after class." she whispered to her.

When she bounced over to the next couple, Jess gave Nick a smiling look, which he returned.

"Ok, now I want both of you to breathe slowly, in and out. Breathing is the most important thing during childbirth, right after pushing that sucker out." she chuckled.

A few minutes of slow breathing, followed by some floor exercises and some useless (according to Nick, to which he had earnt a sharp slap up the side of his head from Jess) ball bouncing later;

"Ok, now before we leave…"

"That's it!" Nick mocked whined in disappointment to Jess, who shot him a teasing glare mixed with a little bit of scolding.

"I want to do a little ___talking exercise_ right now." she explained, and Nick rolled his eyes a bit.

"Now, I want you to look into your partners eyes." she began, and Nick's focus immediately went to Jess' face, who shyly looked away momentarily.

"Now, guys, repeat after me. 'Thank you.'"

"Thank you." Nick said with a charming smile.

"'For giving me this baby'."

"For giving me this baby." Nick continued, Jess laughing a little at the weirded out look on his face, knowing full well that if they weren't in public he would be panic moonwalking pretty damn fast away from her.

"'I promise, that I will always be there for you'."

"I promise I will always be there for you." Nick repeated, more confidently this time. And Jess could feel him affectionately rub her knuckles with his thumb. There was a thump in her stomach as their little peanut aimed a pretty impressive kick at her bellybutton.

"Now, I want to say this part, from your heart. Don't make me make you say it. I want you to tell your partner that she's beautiful and how much you care for her."

Nick took in a deep breath and opened his mouth, a smirk coming over his face, as Jess blushed and averted her gaze, suddenly coming over shy.

But Nick shook his head, the smile still plastered to his face as he crooked a finger under her chin, bringing their gazes together.

"You, Jessica Day, are beautiful." he began as she smirked, shaking her head and blushing slightly.

* * *

Nick's at the bar when he gets a frantic phonecall from Schmidt that mainly consists of shrieking and high pitched screaming. There's static at the end of line, the sounds of a scuffling fight, followed by a harsh yelp of pain, before the cool voice of Cece comes on the line. Nick notes with some panic that the usual bored tone to her voice was absent, replaced by an undertone of panic.

"Nick, Jess has gone into labour, get here as soon as you can!"

Nick's heart leapt against his chest as Cece's words resonated around him, before settling painfully in his chest. He hung up the phone and took a deep breath, trying to compose himself. As he gathered up his things and ran out of the door, he paused for a minute in the doorway, turning around to look at the empty bar. It struck him that the next time he stepped foot through these doors, he wouldn't be Nick Miller, kind of suck-ish bartender, failed lawyer, general fuck up. He would be Nick Miller, father.

* * *

He didn't look around as he slammed the door shut behind him.

His hand was crushed.

His hand was crushed and he's sure he'll never have a hand again.

Has Jess always been that strong?

"I hate you Nick Miller! And I hate your penis and I hate your stupid face!"

Would he get into a lot of trouble if he just punched Schmidt in the face?

That bastard is still smirking.

Oh my god where is that guy going with that huge pair of pliers oh dear god he was going to faint this is bad and woah Jess can SCREAM.

Would it be totally bad if he sat down right now?

* * *

"Mr Miller, would you like to come and see your baby being born?" A guy asks at the end of the bed, and Nick swallows on a dry mouth.

"I'm good here, thanks." Nick murmurs, smoothing down Jess' sweaty hair away from her eyes, face contorting as another contraction took over her body.

"Be a man, Nick! Go and watch our baby being born!" Jess commands through gritted teeth, and Nick numbly makes his way down to the end of the bed and WOAH BLOOD AND WHAT THE HELL IS THAT HE'S GOING TO PASS OUT HE SWEARS HE WOULD BE COOL. Jess lets out this almighty scream and it's a mix between a scream and his name, flinging her hand out, searching for him, and Nick composes himself and gets back up to the top of the bed as he eyes snap open.

"Nick it HURTS." She cries, and his heart breaks as he presses a kiss to her temple.

"I know, sweetheart. But you're doing so good!" Jess grumbles something about him not knowing at all and Nick bites back a remark on the tip of his tongue, remembering the situation they were in.

"Okay, Miss Day, on your next contraction you need to push for me okay? Baby's on its way." Jess makes this little sobbing noise at the back of her throat and Nick presses a kiss to her knuckles and braces himself.

"You squeeze as hard as you need to okay, break my hand for all I care." Nick says, and braces himself. Jess laughs and inhales deeply.

"Nick, you need your hands for your job. Plus I kind of like them." Jess whispers, and Nick shakes his head slightly, as though he was trying to clear water from his ears. Suddenly, she stiffens.

"It's coming!" Jess cries, and Nick feels explosions behind his eyes as his hand is squeezed within an inch of its life.

It felt oddly like the end.

* * *

"Guys, it's Nick!" Schmidt shrieks , leaping up from his seat in the hospital waiting room. Winston and Cece and jolted awake from where they slept, Cece with her head on Schmidt's shoulder and Winston propped up against the back of a hospital chair.

Nick approaches his friends with deep set bags under his eyes, yet practically glowing with pride as he grinned down at the bundle of blankets in his arms, sleeping soundly. Winston gasps and Schmidt's breathing becomes laboured. Cece remains quiet, but Nick looks up to see silent tears falling from her eyes.

"Guys," Nick murmurs quietly, as they gather round. "This is Dorothy. Say hi."

For once, everyone was silent.

* * *

Hours later and Winston's headed back to the loft, needing sleep for work the next day, and Cece's visiting Jess in her hospital room. Nick stands at the window to the nursery, watching his little girl sleep peacefully in her crib.

"Hey, man," Nick starts slightly at the sound of a voice, before smiling slightly as he realises it's Schmidt. They both watch Dorothy in silence.

"Hey, Schmidt." It's strange seeing Schmidt so quiet and stuck for words, yet it seems oddly fitting.

"She's beautiful." Schmidt says, and it sounds so sincere it hurts a little.

"I know, she's all Jess." Nick laughs, and suddenly he's shocked that the little tiny thing in front of him is a little bit of him but mostly a little bit of her. It's them. And she's real. And he will not cry in front of Schmidt.

"I don't know, she's got your eyes." Nick grins a little.

"Are you ready for this, man?" Nick lets out a breath but nods silently, still not diverting his attention away from his slumbering little girl.

"I'm proud of you, Nick." Schmidt says and claps him on the back. As he hears the retreating steps of his friend back down the hard hospital tile, Nick allows himself a few well placed tears.

* * *

Jess wakes up in the night, noting the absence of Nick's body heat. Rubbing her eyes tiredly, she gets out of bed and heads to the bathroom, wondering sleepily if he had a late shift at the bar she'd forgotten about. Walking past the room that was now her daughter's, Jess' breath hitched as she noticed the light seeping out from under the crack of the door. Padding silently to the door, she peeked in and felt her heart melt into a puddle of goo at the sight in front of her.

Nick sat on the rocking chair, swaying backwards and forwards slowly, rhythmically, Dorothy locked securely in his arms. She bit her lip as she noted the way he gazed down at their little girl with wonder in his eyes, his voice low and husky and laced with sleep, murmuring something she couldn't quite hear.

"...and the little chicken ran around town saying 'the sky is falling' 'the sky is falling'! And you know what, baby? I don't know whether that chicken was right or not but sometimes it's good to have a good knock to the head. Things have got to end to get better." Jess shifted a bit in her position at the doorway, and upon noticing her presence Nick grinned at her softly.

Dorothy now sighed softly in sleep, and Nick lowered her gently into her crib, pressing a kiss against her wispy hair.

"Chicken little, huh?" Jess asks, twining her arms around his neck, grinning tiredly.

"That little bird knew what he was talking about." Nick grins, and bent his head to press his lips against hers.

* * *

**Please let me know what you think! **


	2. smits

**The Sky is Falling**

* * *

**Hi, guys! This chapter is created through boredom at work and an over active imagination. I was so weary about posting this because I was incredibly proud of this story, but I hope I do it justice! My plan is to continue through Dorothy's life year by year. Anyway, without further ado, here is chapter two. I know, I'm great at rhymes. Also I steal an Ed Sheeran lyric because that's the way I roll.**

**I bought series one on DVD the other day, but that's as far as this ownership goes.**

**This belongs to Matilda. For being an angel.**

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**_Year One.  
'And you can lie with me, with your tiny feet when your half asleep.'_**

* * *

"Momma!" Jess said slowly over emphasizing the words as she pointed to herself slowly. Nick snorted into his coffee as he took in the scene before him, Jess sat cross legged in front of their daughter, whom currently appeared much more interested in grabbing at the ends of Jess' hair than the things she was saying.

Jess shot him a venomous look over her shoulder, grimacing slightly as one of Dorothy's chubby fists secured around one of her curls. Nick grinned.

"You're fighting a losing battle, Jessica." Nick said nonchalantly, watching with some amusement as Jess scooped Dorothy up and attempted to distract her with her car keys to make her release her apparently relentless grip on her mother's hair. Letting out a cry of relief as Dorothy grabbed at the keys, Jess flicked her hair over her shoulders and hugged her baby to her chest.

"It's coming any day now, Nicholas." Jess said. "Today we got a 'Maw' didn't we baby? And she totally would have said Momma if it wasn't for the unfortunate spit up occurrence that shortly followed." Nick laughed and watched fondly as Jess rocked gently from side to side, the way that Dorothy's eyes seemed to droop tiredly.

"I still think we're gonna get a Dadda first." Nick shrugged as he walked towards her, a slightly smug grin on his features. Jess gasped dramatically and jokingly shielded her daughters ears.

"Never, Miller. I haven't even seen you TRYING with her." Jess said a little sulkily, nudging Dorothy's sleeping face fondly with her cheek. "Momma's a shoe in, with the hours I've put in." Nick kept a straight face through Jess' speech, secretly recalling the hours he spent with his daughter when Jess was at work, repeating only the word 'Dadda' and all it's variants to Dorothy with incentives of cookies and ice cream.

"I don't know Jess, I think we've raised a Daddy's girl." Nick shrugged, moving to sit on the couch and flick on the TV. Jess paused at the door to her daughter's room and turned to look at him. Nick's breath caught for a second as he was struck with the sight of her, silhouetted and fuzzy around the edges as the light streamed in behind her.

"It's so on, Miller."

* * *

"...and I read somewhere that feeding her too much junk can set bad habits for when she's older. Do not look at me like that Nick of course I know about the secret strawberry ice cream you feed her when I'm at work. You forget that I'm the one that mops up her vomit." Jess' eyes shone in a way Nick knew that she didn't really mind, and he locked his arms around waist to pull her against his chest. They had been out for the night, mainly on the insistence of Schmidt (who had taken his role of uncle very seriously, buying numerous parenting books and studying them until he could recite them) who said it was 'important that new parents had time to reconnect.' Jess had fretted endlessly, writing realms of instructions before she left Dorothy in the care of Schmidt and Cece, and Nick had to get her to swear that she was allowed only one phonecall to the loft that night.

"_Jess, put the phone down." Nick groaned over his food, watching Jess twist the lock of hair around her finger incessantly. Jess narrowed her eyes at him dangerously. _

"_Schmidt, Schmidt I don't care can you please just put Dorothy on the phone for a minute please? Schmidt SCHMIDT!" Nick leaned across the table and, exasperated, snatched the phone out of Jess' hands. Opening her mouth to complain, Nick held up a finger to quiet her, lifting the phone to his ear._

"_Schmidt, if you don't put Dorothy on the phone right now so I can order my dinner, I swear to god when we get home I will systematically empty all of your chutneys into the pockets of your fancy suits." There was a shuffling at the end of the line, mixed with a few grumbling complaints from Schmidt, and Nick handed the phone back over the table to Jess, who smiled gratefully._

_Nick sipped his drink as he watched Jess' eyes light up at the gurgling noises Dorothy was sending down the phone, a smile creeping onto his features._

Pushing the door open, Nick and Jess were greeted by an ecstatic Schmidt with a sleeping Dorothy in his arms, miming something at them dramatically. Jess sighed at the sight of her daughter and reached over to pull her into her arms, pressing little kisses into her wispy hair.

"Dude, calm down and remember how to form words." Nick said, loosening his tie and stooping to kiss Dorothy on the forehead, placing his hand on Jess' lower back.

"I'm going to set her down." Jess whispered quietly, Nick moved to follow her but Schmidt caught hold of his sleeve and pulled him back.

"Dude, she spoke! Dorothy said her first word!" Schmidt beamed happily, letting out a girlish shriek of delight. "Do you know how advanced this makes her for her age? Studies suggest, especially enforced by Doctor Priestman of-" Nick reached out and slapped Schmidt up the side of the head, eyes widening dramatically.

"What was my daughter's first word, doofus?" Nick almost shouted, an uncomfortable feeling settling around him as Schmidt's face contorted into a smug grin.

"Don't tell me..." Nick felt the colour begin to drain from his face as Jess reappeared into the room, shaking her hair down from it's constraints. She paused, taking in Nick's shellshocked face, her face contorting into a look of confusion.

"I, Schmidt, would like to announce I am the master of child linguistics. Many have failed to get the child of one Nicholas Miller and Jessica Day to make her first brave steps into the worlds of lexis, many that is, until one dashing, charming uncle-" Jess moved so fast Nick barely saw it, one second Schmidt was stood, grinning smugly and puffing out his chest, the next minute he was whimpering under the fierce grip of Jess, whom had somehow managed to bend Schmidt almost double, her tiny arms locked around his neck, mercilessly mussing up his hair.

"What. Did. You. Make. My. Baby. Say!" Jess growled through bared teeth, barely heard over Schmidt's girlish wails. Cece took that second to make a reappearance to the room, regarding the scene of her best friend pummelling into her boyfriend with bored disregard. Nick didn't really blame her, weird crap like that happened all the time in the loft.

"Has he told her yet?" Cece asked Nick coolly, standing next to him Nick turned and smiled at her a little sadly, shaking his head.

"Schmidt's breathing isn't he?" Nick laughed, before yawning into the back of his hand.

"Actually, I got it on video!" Cece exclaimed, whipping out her phone and handing it to Nick. Nick gulped. With shaking hands he pressed play, only to see the sight he dreaded most.

His daughter's smiling face beaming up at the camera, repeating one word over and over.

"S-mit! S-mit! S-mit!"

* * *

"I don't know what's worse, our daughter's first word is that jackass or the fact that it sounds like she's saying to bad word for doo-doo over and over again." Jess sighed dramatically and Nick frowned, groaning with sleep.

"Jess, can we stop talking about it please?" He said, burying his face in his pillow, grimacing slightly at the light slap she gave him on his arm.

"This is a serious matter, Nicholas."

"It's pretty funny, Jess. You gotta admit." Jess frowned.

Nick leaned over and kissed her lightly on the cheek, and wrap and arm around her waist.

"Goodnight Day."

"Goodnight Miller."

* * *

The routine at the loft had become this.

Dorothy wakes up at about 6, which in turn wakes Jess up (Nick swears she had a sixth sense about when Dorothy was going to wake up, but Jess tells him that it's just being a mother), Jess dresses herself and her daughter, as well as cooking breakfast. She then wakes Nick up as she's leaving, either by a sharp shout into the room, the ripping off of bed covers, or the baby that is thrown at him as she leaves for work. Sometimes though, if he's lucky, she'll kiss him awake, lips warmed by the gentle rays of sunlight that filter in through the gaps in the curtains. Then Nick was on Dad shift until Jess got home from work, where the little family would have dinner together. If they were lucky then and Nick had been given a late start to one of his shifts, Winston or Schmidt would watch Dorothy for a few hours until Nick had to go to work, and Jess and Nick could go for a walk along the beach or out for dinner. Then Nick would kiss his girls goodbye for the night, reappearing in the early hours of the morning exhausted, clambering into Jess' bed and curling up next to her, pressing a kiss to the back of her neck and burying his face into her skin as he fell to sleep.

It was crazy. It was hard. And it was a mess. But it was their mess, and they wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

"Hey, Nick, once you've finished up there you can split for the night." Big Bob shouted over the din of the bar, nodding to the drink that Nick was currently pouring.

"It's only seven thirty and I'm on the late shift tonight, you sure Bob?" Bob smiled at him.

"Your little girl's turning one next month, right?" Nick nodded, a dozy grin spreading across his face as he thought about his little Dorothy's first birthday, he couldn't believe a year has gone so fast. Jess was getting super excited about it all, frantically buying realms of pink ribbon and sparkly princess glasses for Dorothy's birthday party.

"Enjoy it. They don't stay little forever." Bob grinned at him, and Nick handed the drink to the customer before slapping Bob on the back in thanks.

"Thanks, Bob. You're the man!"

* * *

Nick crept into the loft to find it quiet. Frowning, he observed that the living room was empty, as well as the kitchen and their two bedrooms. He pulled out his phone to check to see if Jess had text him about going out somewhere, just as he noticed the light seeping out from under the bathroom door. As he listened more closely, he could hear the sounds of splashing and giggles, and he grinned as he pushed it open.

"Dada Smitty!" Dorothy clapped happily as she noticed his presence, and Nick felt the familiar stab of annoyance at his daughter's choice of words. Since the first word incident, Dorothy had apparently taken it upon herself to refer to every male as Schmidt. They'd persisted and persisted with Dada, which Dorothy had eventually picked up, still relucatant, however, to shake the Schmidt. The things Nick was going to do to the douchebag one day.

"Heeeeeey, baby girl." Nick said, grinning as he leaned over to press a kiss to Dorothy's soaped up hair as he kneeled next to Jess, who was beaming at him in the typical Jess like fashion.

"Bob gave me an early finish." Nick shrugged at her questioning gaze tapping around a rubber duck in the water absentmindedly.

"That man is a sweetheart." Jess concluded, reaching over for the washcloth to wipe the suds out of Dorothy's eyes. "I'll make him another batch of banana bread as a thank you." Nick rolled his eyes but squeezed her hand under the water to let her know he was only kidding. Jess sighed contentedly as she rested her head on Nick's shoulder tiredly, a little smile on her face as she watched Dorothy splash about happily in the tub.

Nick made a mental not to come home early more often.

* * *

"No Nicholas, scoop her under her arms like this!" Schmidt gestured widely with his arms as Nick glared at him over the top of his daughter's head. The four roommates sat in a circle of the floor, their legs crossed. Dorothy had recently learnt the skill of pulling herself up to standing on various objects, and Jess, getting for too over excited (over excited as in filmed every single instance Dorothy had done it, as well as calling in Nick to watch her film it, then making Nick watch the film) had taken this as early signs of walking.

"_I read somewhere that walking is all about encouragement." Jess started, and Nick silently cursed all the damn baby books that were bought for her when she got pregnant. "We need to create an encouraging environment to encourage her to take her first steps." Jess said confidently, and Nick sighed._

"_The word encouragement starting to sound weird to anyone else?" Winston chuckled, casting a teasing eye at Nick over Jess' new fangled idea, causing him to scowl._

"_I don't know why you're laughing Winston. You and Schmidt can help too. I'm sure Dorothy's uncles would love to spend their Saturday night **encouraging** her." Jess said happily, locking eyes with Nick and shooting him a look that made his stomach do flip flops._

And now, they were here. Nick chanced a glance around the faces of his roommates, observing Schmidt's flustered expression, Winston's deep set scowl, and Jess' exasperated grin. The atmosphere felt as far from encouraging as it could get... perhaps tense was the more apt adjective to use.

"Come on baby, come to Momma!"

"Jess, I really don't think..."

"Less of the negativity, buster!"

"Maybe if she sensed her Uncle Winnie was having a good time getting his mojo on at Daisy's she'd feel more _encouraged_."

"None of that talk around my daughter, Winston!"

"Please, Jess. I'm sure she's been awoken many a night by the sound of her mother and father doing much worse..."

"SCHMIDT HOW DARE YOU SUG-"

"Momma!"

Silence.

Jess gasped then clasped her hands over her mouth at the sight in front of her, tears immediately blooming in her eyes. Amidst all the chaos, Dorothy had pulled herself up using the front of Nick's t-shirt and on shaky legs made her way across the circle to her mother.

"Momma!" Dorothy repeated then made little grabby fists at her, indicating she wanted to be picked up. At Jess' delighted little squeal, Dorothy laughs just as Schmidt and Winston erupt into cheers. Nick stands up and swoops his little girl into his arms, spinning her round and pressing kisses into her hair.

"Who's my clever girl?" He cooed, bouncing her up and down. Jess stood beside him and leaned into his shoulder, tracing Dorothy's facial features carefully with her finger. Nick glanced down at her, and saw the tears streaming down her face and she offered him a weak smile. He wrapped his free arm around her shoulder and fell in love with her a little bit more.

* * *

"You're gonna be one of those Dads that totally stalk their daughters to prom aren't you?" Jess teased, as she lay wrapped up in Nick's secure embrace that night. Nick made a face.

"What makes you say that, Jessica?" Jess laughed and spun in her arms to face him, cradling his jaw in her hands.

"I see the way you look at her." She whispered, pressing a kiss to the side of his cheek, against the coarse stubble.

"And?"

"You look at her like she's the most important thing in the world." Jess answered simply, running her fingers through his hair. Nick grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head.

"I look at her the way I look at you." Nick whispered against her mouth, before dipping his head and taking her lips with his.

* * *

Dorothy had been crying for days, and Nick doesn't know what to do. Jess had gone away with school for a trip to Washington (after much persuasion on Nick's behalf, and the assurance from the hotel and school that she had free use of the lobby's phone) Winston's suggestions to help had stemmed to a panicked 'WHY DON'T WE ALL JUST CALM DOWN AND LISTEN TO THE WICKED SOUNDTRACK, POPULAR..." Schmidt had panicked more than Winston, and had locked himself in his room to pour over stacks of baby self help books. That left one person for Nick to call, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

"Cece? Hey. She just won't stop crying and nothing I do will stop it. She's not hungry, she's not tired, she's not messy, she's not lonely…I just don't know what could be the problem and Jess doesn't get home for a few more days and I'm losing my _mind_."

"Maybe she's getting her first tooth. Do you see anything different in her mouth?" Nick felt a surge of relief and gratitude toward the model and he rushed off to Dorothy's room.

"Damn it, I didn't even think of that! I'll call you right back!"

Nick hung up the phone and rushed into Dorothy's bedroom, wincing at her cries.

"It's alright, love, daddy's here to make it better if I can."

Sure enough, there was a little white bump coming in on the right side of Dorothy's mouth, and Nick sighed in relief. She's not dying, after all. Thankfully she stopped crying when Nick picked her up, and the two of them, Nick succumbing to the complete exhaustion of the past few days, fell asleep on the couch shortly after.

Nick woke up to the front door clicking shut, and he immediately jerked awake, clutching Dorothy closer to his chest as he looked around. Jess wasn't supposed to be home for a few more days and Schmidt and Winston had both split for the night, for some respite from Dorothy's constant screaming. He was about to start panicking when familiar brown bangs over big blue eyes peek around the corner, and Nick felt the familiar sent easing the knot that had formed in his stomach.

"Cece called and said you were having a little bit of a panic and I hopped on the first plane home."

Jess made her way across the room and plopped down next to Nick, reaching out to take their daughter into his arms.

"But…but what about Washington?" Nick asked, even though he doesn't really give two shits about it, now that Jess is home.

"Eh, they can handle it without me. I didn't think you should have to suffer through our daughter's first tooth alone, so I'm here."

Nick felt a heavy weight lift off his shoulders and he smiled, leaning over to press a kiss to Jess' warm cheek.

"Thank you, sweetheart. We're happy you're home."

* * *

Nick and Jess get tired. It's inevitable and they had been profusely warned about how 'oh, you'll get no sleep at all!' or 'it's always the hardest with your first!' but they never expected this. It was hard. Winston and Schmidt had noticed, too, noticed how short Nick and Jess were getting with each other, and sometimes even with Dorothy.

"We've got to do something, man! They're gunna crash and burn!" Winston yelped, and Schmidt rubbed a hand against his forehead, anxiously.

"I agree. Operation Super Uncles?"

"Operation Super Uncles."

* * *

Schmidt was a stealthy shadow moving along the hallway on tiptoe; not that it really matters, as Dorothy was squalling loud enough to wake the dead (jeeze, Nick and Jess must be really tired if they weren't waking up to that) but he took great care as he twists the handle of the bedroom door and scampered to the side of the crib, looking down at the red-faced infant inside it.

Winston followed shortly after with a bottle of formula and tired eyes, as he moved to put the bottle in Dorothy's waiting mouth.

"Winston, you brute!" Schmidt angrily whispered, ripping away the bottle from his grasp. "Did you even check the temperature of the liquid before offering to baby?"

"Man of course I did, what do you take me for?" Winston snapped back.

"I don't know, maybe a heavy thighed, slightly chubby-"

"Schmidt I-"

"Well well well, what do we have here?" A voice asked from the doorway, causing both Winston and Schmidt to jump. Jess leaned against the doorframe with laughter dancing in her eyes as she took in the scene in front of her. Schmidt straightened.

"Jessica, how terribly immature of you to scare us like that when I was holding your infant. Personally, I-"

"Please don't tell Nick, Jess." Winston cut across, dropping to his knees to beg.

"Oh, I'm telling Nick." Jess said, smirking.

Dorothy's wails subsided into giggles, and maybe Operation Super Uncle wasn't the worst idea in the world.

* * *

He heard them before he sees them with his face semi-buried in the pillow and half-lying on his stomach under the fluffy duvet. He's acutely exhausted after a rough night at the bar, combined with Shane's general asshole-ness and one too many stag parties He heard the two pairs of feet wobbling their way across the wooden floor; one set stepping to that syncopated rhythm of an awkwardly hunched over adult, the other set a soft pitter-patter.

Through one half opened eye, he saw Jess and his baby girl, not even a year-old and clad only in her little nappy, walking into the bedroom together. Tiny fingers curled around her Mother's for support (Dorothy still hadn't completely cracked the whole walking thing, as proved by several banged foreheads that he had had to kiss better) as they eventually shuffled their way towards the foot of the bed, lifting the little girl up to sit on the duvet.

"Nick!" Jess whispered excitedly, bustling awake, listen to what our clever girl has learnt to do!" Nick awoke from his fake slumber to see his favourite blue eyes in the world smiling up at him, accompanied with his favourite pair of brown.

"Dada!"

Nick's jaw dropped, eyes wide with amazement, and rendered completely speechless by an infant. _Did she just-? Was that?_ "Dada!" This time she held her arms out towards him with a huge smile rivalling his. Tears sprung to his eyes as he turned to sit up, Jess picked up the little girl and placed her in his arms, his fingers curling around her nappy-clad bum and back.

"She just called me 'Dada', Jess! No more Smit!" He said as Dorothy planted one of her signature baby kisses half on his mouth and half on his cheek. It's one of those sloppy wet baby kisses that feel more like being drooled on than actually being kissed, but at this moment, he wouldn't have it any other way.


End file.
